Airship.



. L. C. VAN DUZER.

AIRSHIP.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 27, 1915.

1 1770;367. Patefited Feb. 1, 1916.

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' AlRSHlPh APPLICATION FILED APR. 27, I915.

Patented Feb. 1, 1916.

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I AIRSHIP. v APPLICATION FILED APR. 27, 1 915.

Patented Feb; 1, 1916. a SHEETS-SHEET 3 I av wemtoz L. L. Varzfiuzn I Stroke W1 .nNrrnn s'rarns rarnnrr er sion,

LAFAYETTE C. VAN DUZER, OF NATIONAL SOLDIERS HOME, HAMPTON, VIRGINIA..

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Toa ZZ whom, it may concern: I Be it known that I, LAFAYETTE C. VAN

DUZER, a citizen of the United States, resid I ving at National Soldiers Home, Hampton,

and State of Virginia, have invented new 3 and useful Improvements in Airships, of

which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to airships of that kind embodying the principles of the aeroplane and dirigible aeros tat, and one of its objects is to provide a machine of this character'in which effective means are employed for sustaining the machine by the buoying action of a volume of gas and the supporting action of aeroplane surfaces.

A further object of the invention is to provide a machine embodying a substantially cigar shaped car suitably partitioned to pro- Y embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a vertivide cabins and compartments and having extending axially tlierethrough an air-tube or wind tunnel with which the frame of the car is connected to secure great strength and durability, suitable propelling means being provided for circulating air through the tube or tunnel by means of which greater.

reference being had to the accompanying drawings in which 1 Figure 1 is a side elevation of an airship callongitudinal section of the same. Fig. 3 is a top plan View. 'Fig. 4 is a front elevation. Fig. 5 is a vertical transverse section.

In carrying my invention into practice, I

provide an airship comprising a substantially cigar-shaped car 1, which is approximately of circular form at the center and thence tapers uniformly toward its opposite ends. The car is in the form of a hollow body, consisting of a casing 2 of fabric, sheet metal or other suitable material secured to a skeleton frame foundation 6, which terminates at its ends in annular disks or heads 7 Extending Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 1, 1916.

application filed April 27, 1915. Serial No. 24,286

axiallythrough the body is a wind tube or air tunnel 8, which is rigidly fastened at its ends to the heads 7 and has its bore or passage 1n registry with the openingstherein,

the said tube. or tunnel being connected with the frame work 6 by bracing elements 9 whereby a structure ofgreat strength and durability is obtained.

Extending through'and suitably j ournaled within the tube or tunnel 8 are shafts 10 and 11, which are driven in opposite direc tions by Qchain and sprocket or other suitable sets of gearing 12 and 13 from one or more driving motors 14:. These shafts project at .the front and rear of the body and are ournaled at their projecting ends in bearing brackets 14. Carried by the respective shafts are fans or propellers l5 and I6,

which are arranged torespectively rotate within the front and rear ends of the wind tube or column and operate to produce a suction whereby, in the travel of the craft, I

air is drawn into the wind column, compressed to a certam degree and thence'projected in a comparatively dense volume at the rear of the craft, the projected dense colume of the air at the rear serving by its reaction to give botha propellingand a sustaining effect In practice, the propellers are preferably driven, as stated,'in opposite directionsfand the rear propeller is driven at a higher rate of speed than the front propeller, so as to insure the rapid discharge of mulation of air entering the wind tube through the force of travel of the craft and and engine or power plant compa tments 18 and 19 being shown in thepresent instance.

From the remaining space within the car is, 1 air which is expelled'or exhausted, and this space is filled with bags or balloonets 20 containing hydrogen or other gas lighter than air, by which thesustaining action of an aerostat suflicient to lift a part of the weight of the craft is obtained.

Suitably secured to the body are upper the condensed air and to prevent over accuand lower central, vertical, longitudinally extending fins or'vanes 21 and 22-whi'ch may be of any suitable construction and braced in any preferred manner. fin or vane 21 may in somecases be om tted,

but the fin or vane 22 is employed at all times and serves as a keel to hold the craft to its course and also as a support for suitably cushioned launching and landing wheels 22'. It may also form a support for" pressure The front and rear planes 24 and 25 of each set are independent, and the front edges of the rear planes 25 may be overlapped by the rear edges of the front planes 24 so as to provide a proper interposed air clearance space. The wings are pivoted to.

tilt vertically on horizontal transverse axes 26, so that they may be employed for steering or stability purposes when desired, or so that. their working angle may be increased or diminished as occasion may require. They operate when the machine is propelled through the air ata given speed to sustain the greater part of the weight of the craft, 7

so that, through the additional sustension afforded by the balloonets, a craft having great lifting capacity will vbe produced. Any suitable means for adjusting each wing may be employed, but in the present in-v stanc'e'I have shown cords or cables 27 connected from above and below to the free edge of each plane, and thence passing over guide pulleys 28 to the interior of the craft lower propellers 31 and 33 are intended in practice to be submerged when the craft rests upon the surface of a body of water so and being connected with a winding drum or the like 29, by means of which the respec tive wings maybe properly adjusted in unison. v I

In addition to the propelling means previously described, I preferably employ upper and lower forward propellers 30 and 31 and upper and lower rear propellers 32 and 33, which propellers are mounted upon horizontal transverse shafts and driven from the The front motors in any suitable manner. and rear sets of .propellers are respectively arranged at points between the center of the body and the reduced ends thereof, and the that they may be employed as, marine proellers to drive the craft through the water. hile any suitable type of propelling and steering means may be employed I have shown herein front and rear vertical rudders 34 and front and rear horizontal rudders 35, which rudders are respectively connected by sets of cords or cables 36 and. 37

with controlling devices 38 and 39"within the pilots compartment by means of which In practice the said rudders may be easily and conveniently adjusted. Inasmuch as both ends of the craft are formed alike, and are provided with similar propelling and steering de-- vices, by suitably controlling and driving the propelling devices the craft may be backed or driven with either end ahead as the bow portion, the advantages of which -will be evident without recitation.

The craft may be of any desired length,

diameter or spread, and by reason of the nel extendingaxially through the body, suction fans at the front and rear of the timnel, cabins within the body, balloonets filling the spaces between the wind tunnel and body remaining unoccupied by the. cabins,

counterpart rudders at opposite ends of the body, sustaining wings at the sides of the body, propellers atthe front and rear of the body, and means for driving the fans and propellers. l

2. An airship including a substantially cigar-shaped hollow body, .a wind tunnel extending axially through the body, suction fans at the front and rear of the tunnel, a vane depending from and extending longitudinally of the bottom of the body, sustaining'wings at opposite sides of the body, propellers at the front and rear of the body on opposite sides thereof,'said propellers being arranged in upper and lower front and rear working pairs, and means for driving the suction fans and operating the said propellers. i a I 3. An airship including a substantially cigar-shaped body, a tunnel extending axi- I ally through the body, suction fans at-the front and rear of the tunnel, sustaining wings arranged at oppositesides of the body, propellers at the front, and rear, of

the body on opposite sides thereof, said propellers being arranged in upper and lower front and rear working pairs, and means for driving the suction fans and operating the said propellers. y

4:. airship including a substantially cigar shaped hollowbody, a wind tunnel extending axially through the body, suction fans at the front and rear of the tunnel, a

tudinally of the bottom of the body, sustaining'wings arranged in pairs in following order at opposite sides of the body, means foradjusting said wings to different 5 Vane dependlng from and extending longi- Working angles, propellers art the front and In testimony whereof'I aflix my signature rear. of the body on opposite sides thereof, in presence of two witnesses.

said propellers being arranged in upper and LAFAYETTE C. VAN DUZER. lower front and rear Working pairs, and Witnesses: 5' means for driving the suction fans-and op- F. J. BLAKE,

erating the said propellers. C. C. KRAFT. 

